The ass is always found, too, in
connection
with Silenus.
Satires
_ Cic.
pro Cæc.
, 34, "Qui volunt pœnam aliquam
subterfugere aut calamitatem, _solum vertunt_, hoc est sedem ac locum
mutant. " Browne conjectures the meaning to be, "They who have parted
with their property by mortgage, and so _changed_ its owner. "
[716] _Cedere foro_ is evidently explained, "to give one's creditors
the slip"--"to run away from justice"--"to abscond from 'Change"--"to
become bankrupt. "
[717] _Ferventi. _
"Lest Rome should grow too _warm_, from Rome they run. " Dryden.
[718] _Circensibus. _ Cf. iii. , 223, "Si potes avelli Circensibus. " vi. ,
87, "utque magis stupeas ludos Paridemque reliquit. " viii. , 118, "Circo
scenæque vacantem. " x. , 80, "duas tantum res anxius optat Panem et
Circenses. " All these passages show the infatuation of the Romans for
these games. Cf. Plin. , Ep. ix. , 6. Tac. , Hist. , i. , 4; Ann. , i. , 2.
[719] _Uno. _ It is not implied that they had the privilege of returning
at the end of a year, by a sort of statute of limitations, but only
that the loss of the games even for that short period was a greater
affliction than the forfeiture of all other privileges.
[720] _Siliquas_, from Hor. ii. , Ep. i. , 123, "Vivit siliquis et pane
secundo. "
[721] _Pultes. _ A mixture of coarse meal and water, seasoned with salt
and cheese; sometimes with an egg or honey added. It was long the food
of the primitive Romans, according to Pliny, xviii. , 8, _seq. _ It
probably resembled the macaroni, or "polenta," of the poor Italians
of the present day. Cf. Pers. , iii. , 55, "Juventus siliquis et grandi
pasta polentâ. "
[722] _Evandrum. _ The allusion is to Virg. , Æn. , viii. , 100, _seq. _;
228, 359, _seq. _
"Come; and while fancy brings past times to view,
I'll think myself the king--the hero, you! " Gifford.
[723] _Alter aquis. _ Æneas, drowned in the Numicius. Hercules, burned
on Mount Œta.
[724] _Fercula. _ Cf. ad 14.
[725] _Macellis. _ Virg. , Georg. , iv. , 133, "Dapibus mensas onerabat
inemptis. " Cf. Hor. , ii. , Sat. ii. , 150, _seq. _ The next 16 lines are
imitated from Mart. , x. , Ep. 48. Gifford says, "Martial has imitated
this bill of fare in Lib. x. , 48. " But his 10th Book was written
A. D. 99; and from line 203, it is evident this Satire was written in
Juvenal's old age, and therefore, in all probability, twenty years
later.
[726] _Asparagi_, called "corruda," Cato, de R. R. , 6. The wild
asparagus is still very common on the Italian hills. Cf. Mart. , Ep.
xiii. , 21, "Inculti asparagi. " See Sir William Hooker's note on
Badham's version.
[727] _Signia_, now "Segni" in Latium. Cf. Plin. , xv. , 15. --_Syrium. _
The "Bergamot" pears are said to have been imported from Syria. Cf.
Mart. , v. , Ep. lxxviii. , 13, "Et nomen pyra quæ ferunt Syrorum. " Virg. ,
Georg. , ii. , 88, "Crustumiis Syriisque pyris. " Columella (lib. v. , c.
10) calls them "Tarentina," because brought from Syria to Tarentum.
Others say they are the same as the Falernian.
[728] _Picenis. _ Hor. , ii. , Sat. iv. , 70, "Picenis cedunt pomis
Tiburtia succo, Nam facie præstant. " And iii. , 272, "Picenis excerpens
semina pomis. " These apples were to be also from his Tiburtine farm:
the banks of the Anio being famous for its orchards. Hor. , i. , Od.
vii. , 14, "Præceps Anio ac Tiburni lucus et uda mobilibus pomaria
vivis. " Propert. , IV. , vii. , 81, "Pomosis Anio quà spumifer incubat
arvis. " Apples formed a very prominent part of the mensæ secundæ: hence
the proverb, "Ab ovo usque ad mala. " Cf. Mart. , x. , 48, fin. , "Saturis
mitia poma dabo. " Cf. Sat. v. , 150, _seq. _, where apples "qualia
perpetuus Phæacum Autumnus habebat" form the conclusion of Virro's
dinner. Cf. Mart. , iii. , Ep. 50.
[729] _Curius_ was found by the Samnite embassadors preparing his dish
of turnips over the fire with his own hands. Cic. , de Sen. , xvi.
"Senates more rich than Rome's first senates were,
In days of yore desired no better fare. " Badham.
[730] _Vulvâ. _ "Nul vulvâ pulchrius amplâ. " Hor. , i. , Ep. xv. , 41. For
a description of this loathsome dainty, vid. Plin. , xi. , 37, 84. Cf.
Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 56.
[731] _Maturius. _
"For feasts like these would quit the mountain's soil,
And snatch an hour from customary toil. " Badham.
[732] _Fabios. _ Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus, censor A. U. C. 449, obliged
his colleague, P. Decius, to allow him to administer his office with
all its pristine severity.
[733] _Fabricios. _ Cf. ad ix. , 142.
[734] _Testudo. _ Cf. vi. , 80, "Testudineo conopeo;" xiv. , 308, "ebore
et lata testudine. "
"Which future times were destined to employ,
To build rare couches for the sons of Troy. " Badham.
[735] _Vile coronati. _ Henninius suggests _vite_. The ass, by browsing
on the vine, and thereby rendering it more luxuriant, is said to have
first given men the idea of pruning the tendrils. Cf. Paus. , ii. , 38.
Hyg. , F. , 274.
The ass is always found, too, in connection with Silenus.
[736] _Nescius. _
"Till at the soldier's foot her treasures lay,
Who knew not half the riches of his prey. " Hodgson.
[737] _Phaleris_: xvi. , 60. Florus says Phaleræ were introduced from
Etruria together with curule chairs, trabeæ, prætextæ, etc. Vid. Liv. ,
xxxix. , 31. Plin. , vii. , 28, 9, says Siccius Dentatus had 25 phaleræ
and 83 torques. Sil. , xv. , 254. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , ix. , 359. Suet. , Aug. ,
25; Ner. , 33.
[738] _Venientis. _ Supposed to be a representation of Mars hovering in
the air, and just about to alight by the sleeping Rhea Sylvia. The god
is _armed_, because the conventional manner of representing him was by
the distinction of his "framea" and "clypeus. " See Addison's note in
Gifford.
[739] _In armis. _
"Then all their wealth was on their armor spent,
And war engross'd the pride of ornament. " Hodgson.
[740] _Lividulus. _
"Yet justly worth your envy, were your breast
But with one spark of noble spleen possess'd. " Gifford.
[741] _Præsentior. _ Cf. iii. , 18, "Quanto _præsentius_ esset Numen
aquæ. " Virg. , Ec. , i. , 42, "Nec tam præsentes alibi cognoscere Divos. "
Georg. , i. , 10, "Præsentia Numina Fauni. " Hor. , iii. , Od. v. , 2,
"Præsens Divus habebitur Augustus. "
[742] _Vox. _ "M. Cædicius de plebe nunciavit tribunis, se in Novâ Viâ,
ubi nunc sacellum est, suprà sedem Vestæ vocem noctis silentio audîsse
clariorem humanâ quæ magistratibus dici juberet 'Gallos adventare. '"
"Invisitato atque inaudito hoste ab oceano terrarumque ultimis oris
bellum ciente. " Liv. , v. , 32, 3, 7, 50. Cic. , de Div. , ii. , "At
paullo post audita _vox est monentis_ ut providerent ne a Gallis Roma
caperetur: ex eo Aio loquenti aram in novâ viâ consecratam. " Cf. Plut.
in Vit. Camill.
[743] _Fictilis. _ Cf. Sen. , Ep. 31, "Cogita illos quum propitii essent
fictiles fuisse. "
[744] _Arbore. _ Cf. Mart. , xiv. , Ep. xc. , "Non sum crispa quidem nec
sylvæ filia Mauræ, sed nôrunt lautas et mea ligna dapes. " Cf. Sat.
i. , 75, 137; iv. , 132. The extravagance of the Romans on their tables
is almost incredible. Pliny says that Cicero himself, who accuses
Verres of stealing a Citrea mensa from Diodorus (in Verr. , iv. , 17),
gave a million of sesterces for one which was in existence in his
time. A "Senatoris Census" was a price given. These tables were not
provided with several feet, but rested on an ivory column (sometimes
carved into the figure of animals), hence called monopodia. They were
called "Orbes," not from being _round_, but because they were massive
plates of wood cut off the stem in its whole diameter. The wood of the
_citrus_ was most preferred. This is not the _citron_-tree, which never
attains to this bulk, but a tree found in Mauritania, called the thyæ
cypressides. Plin. , xiii. , 16. Those cut near the root were most valued
from the wood being variegated: hence "Tigrinæ, pantherinæ, pavonum
caudæ oculos imitantes. " The mensæ were formerly square, but were
afterward round to suit the new fashion of the Sigma couch. The Romans
also understood the art of veneering tables and other furniture with
the citrus wood and tortoise-shell.
[745] _Porta Syenes. _ Syene, now "Assouan," is situated near the
rapids, just on the confines of Ethiopia. It was a station for a Roman
garrison, and the place to which Juvenal is said to have been banished.
Some think the island Elephantine is here meant. Cf. ad x. , 150,
"aliosque Elephantos. "
[746] _Mauro. _ Ab ἀμαυρός, vel μαυρός, "obscurus. " Cf. Lucan. , iv. ,
678, "Concolor Indo Maurus. "
[747] _Nabathæo. _ The Nabathæi, in Arabia Petræa, took their name from
"Nebaioth, first-born of Ishmael," Gen. , xxv. , 13. Elephants are said
to shed their tusks every two years.
[748] _Orexis. _ VI. , 428. _Vires. _ Henninius' suggestion. Cf. ad l. 14.
[749] _Tessellæ. _ Holyday explains this by "chess-board," from the
resemblance of the squares to the tesselated pavements. But it is a
die, properly; of which shape the separate tesseræ were. Mart. , xiv. ,
17, "Hic mihi bis seno numeratur tessera puncto: Calculus hic gemino
discolor hoste perit. " Cf. Ep. 14. Cicero considers this game to be one
of the legitimate amusements of old age. "Nobis senibus, ex lusionibus
multis, talos relinquant et _tesseras_," de Sen. , xvi. "Old Mucius
Scævola, the lawyer, was a great proficient at it. It was called Ludus
duodecim scriptorum, from the lines dividing the alveolus. On these
the two armies, white and black, each consisting of fifteen men, or
calculi, were placed; and alternately moved, according to the chances
of the dice, _tesseræ_. " Vid. Gibbon, chap. xxxi.
[750] _Pergula. _ Literally "the stall outside a shop where articles are
displayed for sale. " Here used for the teachers of the art of carving
who exhibited at these stalls. Suet. , Aug. , 94, speaks of a "pergula
Mathematici. " Pergula, "à perga, quia extrà parietem pergit. " Facc.
[751] _Sumine. _ Cf. Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 44, "vivo lacte papilla tumet. "
[752] _Pygargus. _ "Capræ sylvestris genus, ab albis clunium pilis. "
Facc. Cf. Plin. , viii. , 53, 79, "Damæ et pygargi et Strepsicerotes. "
The "spring-bok" of the Cape.
[753] _Scythicæ. _ The pheasant (ὄρνις φασιανὸς or φασιανικός, Arist. ,
Av. , 68) takes its name from the Phasis, a river in Colchis, on the
confines of Scythia, at the mouth of which these birds congregate in
large flocks. Vid. Athen. , ix. , 37, _seq. _
[754] _Phœnicopterus. _ Arist. , Av. , 273. Cf. Mart. , xiii. , 71, "Dat
mihi penna rubens nomen. " Cf. iii. , Ep. lviii. , 14. Suetonius mentions
"linguas phœnicopterûm" among the delicacies of the "Cœna adventicia"
given by his brother to Vitellius, in Vit. , c. 13.
[755] _Capreæ. _ Cf. Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 99.
[756] _Afra avis. _ Hor. , Epod. , ii. , 53, "Non Afra avis descendat in
ventrem meum non attagen Ionicus. " The μελεαγρίς of the Greeks.
subterfugere aut calamitatem, _solum vertunt_, hoc est sedem ac locum
mutant. " Browne conjectures the meaning to be, "They who have parted
with their property by mortgage, and so _changed_ its owner. "
[716] _Cedere foro_ is evidently explained, "to give one's creditors
the slip"--"to run away from justice"--"to abscond from 'Change"--"to
become bankrupt. "
[717] _Ferventi. _
"Lest Rome should grow too _warm_, from Rome they run. " Dryden.
[718] _Circensibus. _ Cf. iii. , 223, "Si potes avelli Circensibus. " vi. ,
87, "utque magis stupeas ludos Paridemque reliquit. " viii. , 118, "Circo
scenæque vacantem. " x. , 80, "duas tantum res anxius optat Panem et
Circenses. " All these passages show the infatuation of the Romans for
these games. Cf. Plin. , Ep. ix. , 6. Tac. , Hist. , i. , 4; Ann. , i. , 2.
[719] _Uno. _ It is not implied that they had the privilege of returning
at the end of a year, by a sort of statute of limitations, but only
that the loss of the games even for that short period was a greater
affliction than the forfeiture of all other privileges.
[720] _Siliquas_, from Hor. ii. , Ep. i. , 123, "Vivit siliquis et pane
secundo. "
[721] _Pultes. _ A mixture of coarse meal and water, seasoned with salt
and cheese; sometimes with an egg or honey added. It was long the food
of the primitive Romans, according to Pliny, xviii. , 8, _seq. _ It
probably resembled the macaroni, or "polenta," of the poor Italians
of the present day. Cf. Pers. , iii. , 55, "Juventus siliquis et grandi
pasta polentâ. "
[722] _Evandrum. _ The allusion is to Virg. , Æn. , viii. , 100, _seq. _;
228, 359, _seq. _
"Come; and while fancy brings past times to view,
I'll think myself the king--the hero, you! " Gifford.
[723] _Alter aquis. _ Æneas, drowned in the Numicius. Hercules, burned
on Mount Œta.
[724] _Fercula. _ Cf. ad 14.
[725] _Macellis. _ Virg. , Georg. , iv. , 133, "Dapibus mensas onerabat
inemptis. " Cf. Hor. , ii. , Sat. ii. , 150, _seq. _ The next 16 lines are
imitated from Mart. , x. , Ep. 48. Gifford says, "Martial has imitated
this bill of fare in Lib. x. , 48. " But his 10th Book was written
A. D. 99; and from line 203, it is evident this Satire was written in
Juvenal's old age, and therefore, in all probability, twenty years
later.
[726] _Asparagi_, called "corruda," Cato, de R. R. , 6. The wild
asparagus is still very common on the Italian hills. Cf. Mart. , Ep.
xiii. , 21, "Inculti asparagi. " See Sir William Hooker's note on
Badham's version.
[727] _Signia_, now "Segni" in Latium. Cf. Plin. , xv. , 15. --_Syrium. _
The "Bergamot" pears are said to have been imported from Syria. Cf.
Mart. , v. , Ep. lxxviii. , 13, "Et nomen pyra quæ ferunt Syrorum. " Virg. ,
Georg. , ii. , 88, "Crustumiis Syriisque pyris. " Columella (lib. v. , c.
10) calls them "Tarentina," because brought from Syria to Tarentum.
Others say they are the same as the Falernian.
[728] _Picenis. _ Hor. , ii. , Sat. iv. , 70, "Picenis cedunt pomis
Tiburtia succo, Nam facie præstant. " And iii. , 272, "Picenis excerpens
semina pomis. " These apples were to be also from his Tiburtine farm:
the banks of the Anio being famous for its orchards. Hor. , i. , Od.
vii. , 14, "Præceps Anio ac Tiburni lucus et uda mobilibus pomaria
vivis. " Propert. , IV. , vii. , 81, "Pomosis Anio quà spumifer incubat
arvis. " Apples formed a very prominent part of the mensæ secundæ: hence
the proverb, "Ab ovo usque ad mala. " Cf. Mart. , x. , 48, fin. , "Saturis
mitia poma dabo. " Cf. Sat. v. , 150, _seq. _, where apples "qualia
perpetuus Phæacum Autumnus habebat" form the conclusion of Virro's
dinner. Cf. Mart. , iii. , Ep. 50.
[729] _Curius_ was found by the Samnite embassadors preparing his dish
of turnips over the fire with his own hands. Cic. , de Sen. , xvi.
"Senates more rich than Rome's first senates were,
In days of yore desired no better fare. " Badham.
[730] _Vulvâ. _ "Nul vulvâ pulchrius amplâ. " Hor. , i. , Ep. xv. , 41. For
a description of this loathsome dainty, vid. Plin. , xi. , 37, 84. Cf.
Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 56.
[731] _Maturius. _
"For feasts like these would quit the mountain's soil,
And snatch an hour from customary toil. " Badham.
[732] _Fabios. _ Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus, censor A. U. C. 449, obliged
his colleague, P. Decius, to allow him to administer his office with
all its pristine severity.
[733] _Fabricios. _ Cf. ad ix. , 142.
[734] _Testudo. _ Cf. vi. , 80, "Testudineo conopeo;" xiv. , 308, "ebore
et lata testudine. "
"Which future times were destined to employ,
To build rare couches for the sons of Troy. " Badham.
[735] _Vile coronati. _ Henninius suggests _vite_. The ass, by browsing
on the vine, and thereby rendering it more luxuriant, is said to have
first given men the idea of pruning the tendrils. Cf. Paus. , ii. , 38.
Hyg. , F. , 274.
The ass is always found, too, in connection with Silenus.
[736] _Nescius. _
"Till at the soldier's foot her treasures lay,
Who knew not half the riches of his prey. " Hodgson.
[737] _Phaleris_: xvi. , 60. Florus says Phaleræ were introduced from
Etruria together with curule chairs, trabeæ, prætextæ, etc. Vid. Liv. ,
xxxix. , 31. Plin. , vii. , 28, 9, says Siccius Dentatus had 25 phaleræ
and 83 torques. Sil. , xv. , 254. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , ix. , 359. Suet. , Aug. ,
25; Ner. , 33.
[738] _Venientis. _ Supposed to be a representation of Mars hovering in
the air, and just about to alight by the sleeping Rhea Sylvia. The god
is _armed_, because the conventional manner of representing him was by
the distinction of his "framea" and "clypeus. " See Addison's note in
Gifford.
[739] _In armis. _
"Then all their wealth was on their armor spent,
And war engross'd the pride of ornament. " Hodgson.
[740] _Lividulus. _
"Yet justly worth your envy, were your breast
But with one spark of noble spleen possess'd. " Gifford.
[741] _Præsentior. _ Cf. iii. , 18, "Quanto _præsentius_ esset Numen
aquæ. " Virg. , Ec. , i. , 42, "Nec tam præsentes alibi cognoscere Divos. "
Georg. , i. , 10, "Præsentia Numina Fauni. " Hor. , iii. , Od. v. , 2,
"Præsens Divus habebitur Augustus. "
[742] _Vox. _ "M. Cædicius de plebe nunciavit tribunis, se in Novâ Viâ,
ubi nunc sacellum est, suprà sedem Vestæ vocem noctis silentio audîsse
clariorem humanâ quæ magistratibus dici juberet 'Gallos adventare. '"
"Invisitato atque inaudito hoste ab oceano terrarumque ultimis oris
bellum ciente. " Liv. , v. , 32, 3, 7, 50. Cic. , de Div. , ii. , "At
paullo post audita _vox est monentis_ ut providerent ne a Gallis Roma
caperetur: ex eo Aio loquenti aram in novâ viâ consecratam. " Cf. Plut.
in Vit. Camill.
[743] _Fictilis. _ Cf. Sen. , Ep. 31, "Cogita illos quum propitii essent
fictiles fuisse. "
[744] _Arbore. _ Cf. Mart. , xiv. , Ep. xc. , "Non sum crispa quidem nec
sylvæ filia Mauræ, sed nôrunt lautas et mea ligna dapes. " Cf. Sat.
i. , 75, 137; iv. , 132. The extravagance of the Romans on their tables
is almost incredible. Pliny says that Cicero himself, who accuses
Verres of stealing a Citrea mensa from Diodorus (in Verr. , iv. , 17),
gave a million of sesterces for one which was in existence in his
time. A "Senatoris Census" was a price given. These tables were not
provided with several feet, but rested on an ivory column (sometimes
carved into the figure of animals), hence called monopodia. They were
called "Orbes," not from being _round_, but because they were massive
plates of wood cut off the stem in its whole diameter. The wood of the
_citrus_ was most preferred. This is not the _citron_-tree, which never
attains to this bulk, but a tree found in Mauritania, called the thyæ
cypressides. Plin. , xiii. , 16. Those cut near the root were most valued
from the wood being variegated: hence "Tigrinæ, pantherinæ, pavonum
caudæ oculos imitantes. " The mensæ were formerly square, but were
afterward round to suit the new fashion of the Sigma couch. The Romans
also understood the art of veneering tables and other furniture with
the citrus wood and tortoise-shell.
[745] _Porta Syenes. _ Syene, now "Assouan," is situated near the
rapids, just on the confines of Ethiopia. It was a station for a Roman
garrison, and the place to which Juvenal is said to have been banished.
Some think the island Elephantine is here meant. Cf. ad x. , 150,
"aliosque Elephantos. "
[746] _Mauro. _ Ab ἀμαυρός, vel μαυρός, "obscurus. " Cf. Lucan. , iv. ,
678, "Concolor Indo Maurus. "
[747] _Nabathæo. _ The Nabathæi, in Arabia Petræa, took their name from
"Nebaioth, first-born of Ishmael," Gen. , xxv. , 13. Elephants are said
to shed their tusks every two years.
[748] _Orexis. _ VI. , 428. _Vires. _ Henninius' suggestion. Cf. ad l. 14.
[749] _Tessellæ. _ Holyday explains this by "chess-board," from the
resemblance of the squares to the tesselated pavements. But it is a
die, properly; of which shape the separate tesseræ were. Mart. , xiv. ,
17, "Hic mihi bis seno numeratur tessera puncto: Calculus hic gemino
discolor hoste perit. " Cf. Ep. 14. Cicero considers this game to be one
of the legitimate amusements of old age. "Nobis senibus, ex lusionibus
multis, talos relinquant et _tesseras_," de Sen. , xvi. "Old Mucius
Scævola, the lawyer, was a great proficient at it. It was called Ludus
duodecim scriptorum, from the lines dividing the alveolus. On these
the two armies, white and black, each consisting of fifteen men, or
calculi, were placed; and alternately moved, according to the chances
of the dice, _tesseræ_. " Vid. Gibbon, chap. xxxi.
[750] _Pergula. _ Literally "the stall outside a shop where articles are
displayed for sale. " Here used for the teachers of the art of carving
who exhibited at these stalls. Suet. , Aug. , 94, speaks of a "pergula
Mathematici. " Pergula, "à perga, quia extrà parietem pergit. " Facc.
[751] _Sumine. _ Cf. Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 44, "vivo lacte papilla tumet. "
[752] _Pygargus. _ "Capræ sylvestris genus, ab albis clunium pilis. "
Facc. Cf. Plin. , viii. , 53, 79, "Damæ et pygargi et Strepsicerotes. "
The "spring-bok" of the Cape.
[753] _Scythicæ. _ The pheasant (ὄρνις φασιανὸς or φασιανικός, Arist. ,
Av. , 68) takes its name from the Phasis, a river in Colchis, on the
confines of Scythia, at the mouth of which these birds congregate in
large flocks. Vid. Athen. , ix. , 37, _seq. _
[754] _Phœnicopterus. _ Arist. , Av. , 273. Cf. Mart. , xiii. , 71, "Dat
mihi penna rubens nomen. " Cf. iii. , Ep. lviii. , 14. Suetonius mentions
"linguas phœnicopterûm" among the delicacies of the "Cœna adventicia"
given by his brother to Vitellius, in Vit. , c. 13.
[755] _Capreæ. _ Cf. Mart. , Ep. xiii. , 99.
[756] _Afra avis. _ Hor. , Epod. , ii. , 53, "Non Afra avis descendat in
ventrem meum non attagen Ionicus. " The μελεαγρίς of the Greeks.
